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Election Issues

The issues in this campaign were all defined by the French-English, Catholic-Protestant divide in Canada.

Manitoba Schools Question

In 1890, the Liberal government of Manitoba passed legislation abolishing separate Catholic schools in that province. This enraged all of French Canada, and the federal Conservative government was under heavy pressure to do something. Education was an area of provincial jurisdiction according to the British North America Act 1867, so there seemed to be no way that the federal government could interfere. However, the intense controversy surrounding the Schools Question forced the Conservative government to act.

The Conservatives referred a question to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council asking about the validity of the Manitoba legislation. When the Privy Council ruled the legislation was valid, the Conservative government decided to use remedial legislation. Constitutional guarantees of minority education rights and the federal government's ability to intervene with certain types of objectionable provincial legislation gave the Conservatives an avenue to deal with this issue.

Under the leadership of Mackenzie Bowell, the Conservatives issued Manitoba an ultimatum – they could reopen Catholic schools or face remedial legislation. Manitoba refused to reopen the schools, forcing the Conservatives to introduce the Remedial Bill. This was a dangerous act by the Conservatives, now under the leadership of Charles Tupper, because it caused deep division within the party right before an election. But the Tupper and his followers were committed to preserving the rights of French Canadians.

Laurier and the Liberals were concerned about interfering with provincial jurisdiction. They were also concerned with the potential internal divisions that would result from having to vote on the Remedial Bill. They opposed the remedial legislation by introducing a Hoist Bill. This was an attempt to delay the Remedial Bill for 6 months. Although the Hoist Bill was defeated, they attempted to further delay the Remedial Bill by carrying on extended debate. Their attempts at delay were successful.

Parliamentary debates carried on until the Conservatives were forced to dissolve Parliament and call an election. Nothing had been resolved. The Manitoba Schools Question would turn out to be the defining issue in the election.

Free Trade

Although the Manitoba Schools Question dominated election debates, free trade was also an important issue. Canadians were starting to view the protectionist economic policies of John A. Macdonald's government as out-of-date. The Liberals would promote free trade with the USA to open new markets for Canadian products.

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